Floor tile



Patented Sept. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES PAT oFFicE JAMES E. GRAHAM, orNEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNQR To'nrnn & SON, 1 c., oF EAS WALPOLE,MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION or MASSACHUSETTS noon TILE No Drawing.

- This invention relates to a floor tile, and particularly to aresilient floor tile having advantages and properties not found in floortiles heretofore.

The invention provides a resilient floor tile that is extremelytough'and durable, relatively nonsaponifying andnon-water absorbent,remarkably resilient to fats, oils, grease and other materials thatfloors are likely to be subjected to. a In addition to these properties,this floor tile has wear resistance not found in other resilient floortiles, which is further enhanced by the fact that the composition orsize of tile does not change onaging. Other resilient tiles, rubberandlinoxyn base tiles, are readily subject to aging which, renders themhard and. ,brittle,.1acki-ng in resilience and toughness as time goeson." This tile 'is .so constituted that When properly made and cured, itwillnever change until it has worn out; the ingredients of this tile areso chosen and combined. that oxidation and moisture have practically noaction on the tile. This .tile has great utility in that it is notexpensive to make or install, may be made in the most attractivecolorsand patterns, and in any size or design wanted. I g All tilesmaybe differentiatedas belonging 'to one of two classes; resilient andnonresilientj In, the formerclass are included rubber tile, cork tilewith an oxidized oilbinder, and the so-called linoleum tile which issimilar to the cork tile but contains in addi- ;tion to cork andlinoxyn, mineral and other rfield may beclassed ceramic tile, marbleanasphalt tile. a e A V I do notemploy any backing or carrying agent'forthe tile and I confine'my invention to aflat tile, and not to arollablesheet mate- :rial (with or without a backing) for, by so' doing, I amable-to make a floor tile that is stronger, tougher and more permanentthan a material made up, in roll form. The tile is homogeneousincomposition, that is, made up of the same compositionthroughout, whichprovides a uniform appearancethoughfthe- I tile is worn thin. I

In the manufacture of'fioor tile in accordp anccv With this invention, Iemploy finely difillers. In the relatively non-resilient tile yhnonrresiliellli- Application filed September 3, 1931. Serial No.560,999.

vided materials or fillers of definite degrees of fineness combined witha binder, including as an essential constituent of the binder acellulose ester, nitrocellulose being preferred for this purpose becauseof its ability to produce a tough, elastic binder with good .ce- Mmenting or bonding properties and when properlyco-mpounded with othermaterials to be relatively non-saponifying, and "resistant to oils,fats, grease, etc. 'I have found,

that nitrocellulose must contain a definite" amount of true plasticizingagent to make a suitable blnder for a t le. I refer to'a trueplasticlzing agent as one in which nitrocellulose is re adilysoluble,such-as .tri-cresyl phosphate or'dibutyl "phthallat-e, as 'difiera tilecomposition and its very presencemakes,

entiated from a'softening, agent, such" as castor 011. I have foundthatcaster oil orEsimi a tile that is easily dirtied on account of thetackiness of the surface produced when softening agents are used.

-I employ nitrocellulose of relatively high viscosity E2O2OO sec.typesKprefeTably from 50 to 200 seconds), with a nitrogen content" -of11-43%. One hundred parts of dry nitrocellulose requires '80 tollOparts, andpreferably to parts, of tri-cresyl phosphate to makea suitablebinder. for a tile.) If more than this amount is used, the tile is toosoft for practical application and will indent badly under load, If lessthan the designated amount of plasticizer is used, the tile is too IThese limits have been carefully worked out and cannot be dito beproduced. I have found tricresyl phosphate to be the most satisfactoryplasticizer for tile as it has greater plasticizing action.

' softeningor renderingth'e resulting tile too tacky.. I use 20 to 30parts ester gum to 100 parts of dry nitrocellulose; other resins thatare fairly alkali. resistant, may be usedin;

- gressed from if a wholly satisfactory tile is i place of ester gum.The resin greatly increases the internal bond and assists in making thefillers resistant to moisture and other agents destructive to floorcoverings.

The nitrocellulose, plasticizer and resin are brought to the consistencyof a thick paste in a mixer of the Werner-Phfleiderer type by the use ofan active solvent such as butyl acetate.

I then add to this binder the cork and fillers.

Per cent Passing 40 mesh and retained on 48 mesh screen 10 Passing 48mesh and retained on 60 mesh screen 15 Passing 60 mesh and retained on80 mesh screen 15 50% Passing 80 mesh and retained on 100 mesh screen 10Passing 100 mesh screen 50 This table of graded cork has been found togive the right percentage of roughs and fines and makes a tile which isfree from blisters, and is smooth and glossy. If more than 50% of thecork passes a 100 mesh screen, the surface of the tile will showblisters and the tile becomes unsightly and unsalable; if less than 50%passes a 100 mesh screen, the tile will have a rough surface thatdirties readily.

This composition is passed through a sheeting calender and is cut upinto tiles of the required sizes and shapes. These tiles must bethoroughly cured and all the volatile solvent got rid of before they areready for use. This mixture can not be sheeted on a backing of any type;it would cause a flexible backing to curl badly and, in the case of arigid backing, the composition would show hair line cracks throughout. 7

A typical and preferred composition tile is as follows 150 partsasbestine (fibrous mineral filler) 100 parts Titanox C(titanium dioxideprecipitated on a base) coloring pigment.

Additional coloring or pigment as required.

This composition will produce a smooth, uniform tile, resistant toindentation, relatively non-saponifiable, unafiected by mild acids,oils, grease, fat, etc. The mineral fillers may be varied as to color,and type of finish wanted, but the proportions of nitrocellulose,plasticizer and type of cork used cannot be varied to any appreciabledegree and produce a salable tile. By salable tile, I mean a tile freefrom apparent defects such as roughness, blisters, etc.

This application is a continuation in part, insofar as concerns commonsubject-matter, of my application Ser. No. 386,483, filed August 16,1929.

What I claim is 2-- 1. A floor tile ofhomogeneous composition ofsubstantial thickness, said composition including graded corksubstantially all passing a 410 mesh screen and a substantial portion ofwhich passes a 100 mesh screen and finely divided mineral materialsbonded together by 'a resin, a cellulose ester having a viscosity offrom 50 to 200 seconds, and a plasticizer.

2. A floor tile of homogeneous composition of substantial thickness,said composition including graded cork filler substantially all passinga 10 mesh screen and a substantial portion of which passes a 100 meshscreen, and finely divided mineral materialsf a nitro-cellulose bondingagent having a nitrogen content of from 11% to 13% and a viscosity offrom 50 to 200 seconds, and a plasticizer.

3. A floor tile of homogeneous compositionf said composition including anitrocellulose bonding agent'having a nitrogen content of from 11% to13% and a viscosity of more than 20 seconds, a plasticizer in an amountequal to at least 80% by weight of said nitro-" cellulose bonding agent,a resin,a graded cork filler substantially all passing a 40 mesh screenand substantially half passing a mesh screen, amorphous {and fibrousfinely divided mineral fillers, and pigment.

4. A floor tile of homogeneous composition, said composition including anitrocellulose bonding agent having a nitrogen content of from 11% to13% and a viscosity of more than 20 seconds, a plasticizer in an amount"equal to at least 80% by weight of said nitrocellulose bonding agent, aresin, a graded cork filler all passing a A0 mesh screen andsubstantially half passing a 100-mesh screen finely divided mineralfiller, and pigment.

5A floor tile of liomogeneouscomposition, said composition including anitrocellulose bonding agent having a nitrogen content of from 11% to13%and a viscosity of morev than 40 seconds, tri-cresyl phosphate in anamount equal to between 90% and 100% by weight of said nitrocellulosebonding agent, a resin, a graded cork filler all passing a 4:0 meshscreen and substantially half passing a 100 mesh screen, finely filler,and coloring matter.

6. A floor tile of homogeneous composition including a nitrocellulosebonding agent having a nitrogen content of from 11% to, 13% and aviscosity of more than 20 seconds,

divided mineral tri-cresyl phosphate in an amount equal to between and110% by weight of said nitrocellulose bonding agent, a resin, a gradedcork filler all passing a 40 mesh screen and substantially half passinga" 100 mesh screen, finely divided mineral filler, and

coloring matter.

7. A floor tile of homogeneous composition including a nitrocellulosebonding agent having a nitrogen content of from 11% to 13% and aviscosity of more than 20 seconds, tri-cresyl phosphate in an amountequal to between and by weight of said nitrocellulose bonding agent, aresin, a graded cork filler all passing a 40 meshscreen andsubstantially half passing a 100 mesh screen, finely divided mineralfiller, and

coloring matter.

JAMES E. GRAHAM.

